A National Institutes of Health white paper that was released today finds little to no evidence for the effectiveness of opioid drugs in the treatment of long-term chronic pain, despite the explosive recent ...

(Medical Xpress)—Supervised injectable opiate treatments are more cost-effective than optimised oral methadone treatment for chronic heroin addiction, according to new research from King's College London.

Neuroscientists at Western University (London, Canada) have made a remarkable new discovery revealing the underlying molecular process by which opiate addiction develops in the brain. Opiate addiction is largely controlled ...

Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug used worldwide, but addictions to popular painkillers like Vicodin, Oxycontin and codeine kill the most people, according to the first-ever global survey of illicit drug abuse.

(HealthDay)—Orthopedic trauma patients with isolated musculoskeletal injuries are significantly more likely than the general population to have used prescription opiates prior to injury, and pre-injury ...

New data from the University of Washington's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute indicates increases in heroin availability, abuse and deaths across the state, particularly among young adults ages 18-29. These increases are ...

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have unraveled the molecular foundations of cocaine's effects on the brain, and identified a compound that blocks cravings for the drug in cocaine-addicted mice. The compound, already proven safe ...

The treatment of inflammatory pain can be improved by endogenous opioid peptides acting directly in injured tissue. Scientists at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Université Paris Descartes showed that ...

Long-term methadone treatment can cause changes in the brain, according to recent studies from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. The results show that treatment may affect the nerve cells in the brain. The studies ...

Genetics play a significant role in determining which patients will suffer the most from the disturbing side effects of opiates, commonly prescribed painkillers for severe to moderate pain, according to a new Stanford University ...